I've been planning and preparing to go to a CDL school, but I've been baited by many email advertisements looking for "CDL Trainees" in job email alerts. Considering the financial tradeoff of school, I've kept my eyes open. I looked up one today, it sounded legit, so I called one for Stevens Transport, a good company.

NOTE: I'm in Florida. Many companies don't hire out of FL.

Well, I called the 800 number in the ad. A woman answered, "recruiting". I asked if this was Stevens Transport. She hesitated, saying no, it was a CDL school. Trying to sound interested, I asked "which one?" She replied "TDI in Sanford (FL)". I said I was passing on this, then hung up.

I then called Stevens Trucking recruiting, sharing right off I was in Florida and was wondering if they were hiring out of my area. She neatly said they weren't hiring out of Florida at all. A 10 second conversation.

I'd been deceived 2 weeks back when a supposed "Werner rep" called, telling me to come for an interview in Sanford. The same address and phone number for TDI in Sanford. I asked here if it was legit before discovering that, and someone quickly replied Werner has no CDL schools themselves. My clue was when I asked some specific question to the rep, and he replied "everything would be answered in the interview". That smelled funny.

Do any/many others do this? I've seen ads for CRST, Celadon, and Roehl seeking CDL trainees lately. I'll double check the ads, as I don't like TDI presently fishing for students deceptively.

BTW, I've checked with Prime, Knight, and CREngland for sponsored training already. Closed doors there, and not all due to location.

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.

Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.

Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.

Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

It sounds like it's pretty specific to TDI there in Sanford. This is the first anyone has mentioned it here that I'm aware of.

Now Werner does hire out of Florida and I think they may use TDI for their training but I'm not sure.

I know every week I get snail mail advertisements that always resemble either something from the IRS or from an attorney or some kind of baloney to trick me into opening it. So it doesn't surprise me that a school would do that kind of stuff to get students in the door.

Yes, Brett, Werner does hire out of Florida. I spoke to a Werner recruiter right before walking into an (honest) school's presentation weeks back. Though I leaned towards OTR to get my initial experience, he kept pointing to the Dollar General account they'd recently landed in FL. I thought that'd be a good gig.

Then........someone asked here about the same offer. Seems it's all hands on, loading and unloading 2ce a week. Good money, but the physical demands can be daunting. I've unloaded trailers this last year, and it's no cakewalk. One of the mods forewarned us.

OTR:

Over The Road

OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.

I live in Little Rock and had the same thing happen. I responded to two different ads in the Little Rock newspaper..one for Stevens and one for I believe TMC Different numbers but both got me Diesel Driving Academy in Little Rock.

While perusing a school's website, I came across a "click here for more info on our cdl programs." I entered my email address and waited for a reply.

The following day I got an email from the rep, asking me what type of cdl I'm interested in, whether this is for a new career change, and a couple other generic questions. Finally I was asked if I'd like to set up an interview to go over details.

I answered the questions asked, and indicated that before I take valuable time off of work for an interview, I had a couple of questions that may make or break my decision to attend a school from the get-go:

1- Did they offer flexible program schedules or night classes, which would allow me to continue working while attending school. (A simple question, I thought. A yes or no would have sufficed.)

2- What was the upfront tuition on a 160 hr course, assuming I paid directly out of pocket, with no financial aid.

She replied bluntly "All your questions will be answered at the interview."

That's it.

I wasn't feeling all warm and fuzzy after that. Granted, she's probably inundated with emails daily, and I understand the ploy to get me into her office. but still.

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.

Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.

Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.

Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

OWI:

Do any/many others do this? I've seen ads for CRST, Celadon, and Roehl seeking CDL trainees lately. I'll double check the ads, as I don't like TDI presently fishing for students deceptively.

BTW, I've checked with Prime, Knight, and CREngland for sponsored training already. Closed doors there, and not all due to location.

I know that if Roehl is hiring in FL then they will train and pay you to get your CDL. Fill out an app with Roehl and then give them a call, you will talk to someone directly with Roehl and they will fill you in on the Get your cdl program.

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.

Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.

Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.

Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

Do any/many others do this? I've seen ads for CRST, Celadon, and Roehl seeking CDL trainees lately. I'll double check the ads, as I don't like TDI presently fishing for students deceptively.

BTW, I've checked with Prime, Knight, and CREngland for sponsored training already. Closed doors there, and not all due to location.

I know that if Roehl is hiring in FL then they will train and pay you to get your CDL. Fill out an app with Roehl and then give them a call, you will talk to someone directly with Roehl and they will fill you in on the Get your cdl program.

A month back I did contact Roehl, specifically since they are up near Illinois (up north). I asked if they were hiring out of FL, she said yes, and said they'd fly me down (every 3-4 weeks) for hometime. I discounted it initially, but realized they took care of drivers. I replied to her email, but she didn't respond.

Hawk, do you work for Roehl? If so I'd like to ask you questions about them. I clicked on your name, but didn't see a link to PM you. I'd like to hear more, specifically about flatbeds, their specialty. I'd not been aware of it, yet I'm game.

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.

Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.

Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.

Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

Do any/many others do this? I've seen ads for CRST, Celadon, and Roehl seeking CDL trainees lately. I'll double check the ads, as I don't like TDI presently fishing for students deceptively.

BTW, I've checked with Prime, Knight, and CREngland for sponsored training already. Closed doors there, and not all due to location.

I know that if Roehl is hiring in FL then they will train and pay you to get your CDL. Fill out an app with Roehl and then give them a call, you will talk to someone directly with Roehl and they will fill you in on the Get your cdl program.

A month back I did contact Roehl, specifically since they are up near Illinois (up north). I asked if they were hiring out of FL, she said yes, and said they'd fly me down (every 3-4 weeks) for hometime. I discounted it initially, but realized they took care of drivers. I replied to her email, but she didn't respond.

Hawk, do you work for Roehl? If so I'd like to ask you questions about them. I clicked on your name, but didn't see a link to PM you. I'd like to hear more, specifically about flatbeds, their specialty. I'd not been aware of it, yet I'm game.

I do work for Roehl, just finished school and am waiting to go out with my trainer.

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.

Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.

Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.

Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

The Werner recruiters will try to push the dollar General accounts, but they will be just as happy to have you in otr. The thing with Werner is that they don't do company sponsored training like some of these other companies do. You have to get your CDL from a private school before heading to orientation.

Now they do own two schools that I am aware of, Roadmaster and AIT. They treat those schools as private schools, students who attend then pay to go and aren't required to work at Werner.

I live in Florida and work for Werner. If you have any questions about it feel free to ask.

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.

Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.

Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.

Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

OTR:

Over The Road

OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.

Dm:

Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager

The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.

Company Sponsored Training:

A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.

The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.

If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.

Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.

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